“…Long after a late autumn sunset, as twilight began to darken and I was preparing for a night’s vigil of the stars, a Great Horned Owl appeared silently out of the river delta. At first landing on a tree just a few feet away from me it curiously watched me as I set up my camera equipment. It moved from tree to tree as if to get a better look at what I was doing. Suddenly having rested in a tree with twilight backlighting the magnificent bird-of-prey, I reacted quickly realizing I had this one chance to capture it on film. The nocturnal raptor froze for a moment, looking straight at me, its silhouette perfect against the colorful dusk. The lone sentinel followed me around for the rest of the night calling out from time to time as aurora played in & out of the stars. Great Horned Owls are largest in the Polar Regions and have a wingspan of 40-60 inches. They are permanent residents of their established territories..."